Date Presented 03/21/24
As a needs assessment to provide pediatric professional development, this survey asked OTs (N=143) across the globe (32 countries represented) in what areas they need continuing education. The majority (70%) of OTs requested education in feeding.
Primary Author and Speaker: Kate Barlow
Additional Authors and Speakers: Said Nafai, Kathryn LeMonda, Allyson Bates
Contributing Authors: Liliya Todorova, Marinela Rata, Petya Mincheva
PURPOSE: The World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) Human Resources report, (2022) listed access to professional development as a key factor impacting the shortage of occupational therapists (OT). With the increase in new OT programs across Africa (WFOT, 2020), there is an urgent need to support these new clinicians with mentorship and continuing education (Szymcyk & Barlow, 2021). As a needs assessment to provide pediatric professional development, this research study examined the percentage of OTs working in pediatrics, as well as the areas of pediatric practice OTs required continuing education.
DESIGN: A cross sectional descriptive, online survey was created by the authors and administered.
METHOD: This survey was promoted via social media, and through the International Interprofessional Mentorship Program.
RESULTS: Responses from OTs (N=143) were from 32 countries. The largest number of responses were received from the USA (N=38), then Kenya (N=13), Romania (N=9) and Uganda (N=9), with the remainder of countries having 1-8 responses. The majority of respondents work full time in pediatrics (N=103, 72.5%). For educational content area, the majority (70%) of OTs requested feeding, followed by transitions and positioning for play (18%), and sensory integration and modulation (16%). Other areas requested included infant reflexes (13%), hand development and handwriting (13%), assessments (9%) and neurodevelopmental treatment (8%). OT respondents had varying levels of experience, with 50% of the OTs graduating within the last 10 years and 36% graduating within the last 3 years.
CONCLUSION: With more than half of OTs practicing in pediatrics across the globe, there is a need for pediatric specific professional development. Online clinical competencies have been previously recommended as a low-cost solution to the need (Barlow & Sullivan, 2022). Future research should explore academic curriculums and whether pediatrics is proportionately represented.
References
Barlow, K., & Sullivan, K. (2022.) An international interprofessional tele-mentorship programme: a mixed-methods study, World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1080/14473828.2021.2018173
World Federation of Occupational Therapy. (2022). Human resources project 2022: Global demographics of the occupational therapy profession. https://wfot.org/resources/occupational-therapy-human-resources-project-2022-numerical
World Federation of Occupational Therapy (2020). Human resources project 2020: Global demographics of the occupational therapy profession. https://wfot.org/resources/occupational-therapy-human-resources-project-2020-alphabetical
Szymcyk, A., & Barlow, K. (2021). Occupational therapy in Africa. International Journal of Nursing and Health Care Science, 1(1). https://columbuspublishers.com/uploads/articles/202109121257116052240_ijnhcs_2021_05.pdf
